Southern Garfish
pinungana (Fish)
In palawa kani, the language of Tasmanian Aborigines, with thanks to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre.
Hyporhamphus melanochir (Southern Garfish)
2022/23 Southern Garfish Status (Released August 24)
| Stock Status | DEPLETED | ||
| Summary | Steep declines in the fishery were observed between 2005 and 2008, leading to the fishery being defined as depleting and initiating management actions, including closing the fishery for a month in the east and north to protect peak periods of aggregations. Despite an initial recovery, catch and catch rate continued to decline, indicating vulnerability of the stock. The past three years have seen a slight increase in catch and effort in the northeast coast and around Flinders Island. CPUE has fluctuated substantially but has recently trended back to higher levels. However, given the schooling nature of the species, CPUE is unlikely to be a reliable proxy for biomass. Data-limited stock assessment methods suggest that population recovery under current catch levels is theoretically possible. The slight increases in catch and decreased CPUE could indicate stock improvement but is not significant at this stage. | ||
| Importance | Key | ||
| Stock | Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery | ||
| Indicator(s) | Catch, effort and CPUE trends; changes in size/age composition | ||
| Managing Jurisdiction | State (Tasmania) | ||
Background
Southern Garfish is endemic to southern Australia and inhabits shallow (≤20 m) inshore waters in association with seagrass beds (Gomon et al. 2008). Southern Garfish is a schooling species, feeding near the surface at night. Beach seine fishing in the northeast and around Flinders Island has landed the highest catches of Southern Garfish since the mid-1990s. Dip net fishing on the southeast and east coasts was important in the late 1990s and early 2000s but this has since declined. Following the introduction of dip-nets, catches have also increasingly been taken over the summer months. Currently, Garfish on the northeast coast are caught mostly by beach seine while on the southeast and east coasts they are caught mainly by dip-nets.
The latest full Scalefish Assessment can be found at the link:
Learn more about what each stock status classification means on our Stock Status Classifications Information Page:
Social and Economic Indicators